Michael Albertson walks his dog, Kodi, on the trail along the Fox River in downtown Green Bay on Wednesday. / H. Marc Larson/Gannett Wisconsin Media

Written by

Maria Amante

Gannett Wisconsin Media

Five major symptoms of a heart attack

• Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck or back • Feeling weak, light-headed or faint • Chest pain or discomfort • Pain or discomfort in arms or shoulder • Shortness of breath. If you think that you or someone you know is having a heart attack, call 911 immediately Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Heart health by the numbers

• 715,000 Americans have a heart attack each year. • 600,000 people die from heart disease in the United States each year. • Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.

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GREEN BAY — Mike Albertson thought he was living a healthy lifestyle.

He exercised every day, didn’t smoke and ate a healthy diet. With no previous heart problems and his cholesterol and blood pressure levels controlled through medication, he considered himself the picture of health.

But halfway through a bike ride through Mountain-Bay Trail in September to a family vacation spot, the 63-year-old had a heart attack, falling off his bike and hitting his head.

Two people passing by saw him fall, called 911 and began CPR on him.

Without their intervention, Dr. William Witmer, a cardiologist at Aurora Bay Care who treated Albertson, says it’s unlikely he would be alive.

An estimated 600,000 won’t be so lucky this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The leading killer of men and women in the United States, cardiovascular diseases cost $312.6 billion in treatment and lost productivity each year nationwide.

Regular exercise, healthy diet and avoiding binge drinking all help prevent heart disease, Witmer said. Losing weight if overweight or obese, and treatment of pre-existing conditions such has high cholesterol, blood pressure or disease will lower risks for heart disease.

Albertson had less than 5 percent chance of full recovery, but Wiitmer credits early CPR and cardioversion, a procedure which shocks the heart back to its natural rhythm, with his survival.

When Albertson was hospitalized, he was put into a medically induced coma for two days due to concerns of brain swelling and a lack of oxygen. Doctors put in a stent and reduced his body temperature to 93.5 degrees so his heart and brain could heal.

“I was shocked when I woke up in the hospital,” Albertson said. “I was biking down a trail and went suddenly into full cardiac arrest.”

Six days later, Albertson was discharged from the hospital. After three weeks of cardiac rehab, Albertson returned to his normal way of life. “I was good as new.”

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In Albertson’s case, family history appears to be a major factor in his heart attack: his father died of a heart attack at 41.

“Family history you can’t change,” Witmer said. But “there are things you can change.”

Witmer also recommends learning CPR in order to help others in the case of cardiac events.

“Heart disease is a lifelong disease,” he said. “It never goes away completely. It’s a disease you live with your whole life, you’ll always have propensity for blockages. I’m constantly treating people to reduce that risk. If you come in with a heart attack, treatment is not the end point.”

After the heart attack, Albertson was eager to get back to his active routine, and he said he’s getting back to his capabilities before the incident.

In the meantime, he said he takes nothing for granted and is happy to take his time getting back to full speed.

“There is no reason why I had a rupture in my heart,” Albertson said. “I’m not going to change (my behavior), but I value my time with my family and grandchildren more. Now I look at it, it’s special time, and can be gone in the blink of an eye.”